2009 NBA Playoffs: Second Round/Conference Semi-Finals

After a sweep, a few game 5 & 6 and a couple of awesome game 7s. Now, we go to the 2nd round of the playoffs, featuring 6 out of my 8 predicted winners. Here are the match ups of the Conference Semi-Finals.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs.(4) Atlanta Hawks

PLAYOFFS SERIES
Cavaliers wins 4-0

game 1: Hawks 72 at Cavaliers 99
game 2: Hawks 85 at Cavaliers 105
game 3: Cavaliers 97 at Hawks 82
game 4: Cavaliers 84 at Hawks 74

After an impressive sweep of the Detroit Pistons by Lebron James and Company, next in line is the winner of game seven against the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks have fought a tough battle to get past to the second round of the playoffs but the Cavaliers will prove to be an even more difficult task. With Kings James and backup scorer Mo Williams filling up the score sheet and the rest of the team stepping up on defense, I think this will be another easy 4-0 sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers.

(2) Boston Celtics vs.(3) Orlando Magic

PLAYOFFS SERIES
Magic Wins 4-3

game 1: Magic 95 at Celtics 90
game 2: Magic 94 at Celtics 112
game 3: Celtics 96 at Magic 117
game 4: Celtics 95 at Magic 94
game 5: Magic 88 at Celtics 92
game 6: Celtics 75 at Magic 83
game 7: Magic 101 at Celtics 82

After a classic full of overtime series with the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics will now face the up and coming east power house Orlando Magic. Without the energy and brilliant defense of Kevin Garnett, the Celtics will have a hard time containing the Young Big Man Dwight Howard in the paint. The key to the Celtics to get past this round is their defense they need to double up on Howard but at the same time not leaving the key perimeter shooters of the Orlando Magic and for the Magic to win in this series, they need to contain either of the other two all stars Paul Pierce or Ray Allen. My bet is that the Orlando Magic will take this series in game seven 4-3.


WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs.(5) Houston Rockets

PLAYOFFS SERIES
Lakers wins 4-3

game 1: Rockets 100 at Lakers 92
game 2: Rockets 98 at Lakers 111
game 3: Lakers 108 at Rockets 94
game 4: Lakers 87 at Rockets 99
game 5: Rockets 78 at Lakers 118
game 6: Lakers 80 at Rockets 95
game 7: Rockets 70 at Lakers 89

The Los Angeles Lakers are big favorites in this series, coming off a very Utah convincing victory over the Utah Jazz, but they better not underestimate a very strong Houston Rockets team. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, who is the best player in the Conference. The Rockets, though, have two very good perimeter defenders in Ron Artest and Shane Battier who figure to make things tough on him. However, when Kobe is in the zone, no one is going to stop him. This will be a very hard fought battle with both teams having a player to match at every position. The key here for the Rockets is not only to step up on the defensive end but to also be more consistent at playing as a team for them to keep up at the offensive end. Sorry for the Rockets, they can only get past the past round this year. Lakers will take this with a 4-2 win.

(2) Denver Nuggets vs.(6) Dallas Mavericks

PLAYOFFS SERIES
Nuggets wins 4-1

game 1: Mavericks 95 at Nuggets 109
game 2: Mavericks 105 at Nuggets 117
game 3: Nuggets 106 at Mavericks 105
game 4: Nuggets 117 at Mavericks 119
game 5: Mavericks 110 at Nuggets 124

Both Teams are coming off impressive wins against their first round opponent. This match up will prove to be a battle of two offensive juggernauts so expect this to be a very high scoring series. The Mavericks are playing their best postseason games since 2006 and they can attribute that to their much improved defense. The Nuggets has emerge as a Western Powerhouse Team and they're still carrying their momentum from the last games of the regular season. There will be a lot of focus in the match up in the point, Chauncey Billups was big in the first round and Jason Kidd was solid but I think Billups has a lot more left in his tank than Kidd. The key to this match up are the two small forwards of the team, Josh Howard and Carmelo Anthony, the consistency of their scoring will determine the outcome of each game. But the Nuggets should always be aware of the scoring prowess and different mismatches they'll get from Dirk Nowitzki.
I'm gonna be rooting for the Mavs to win this one with defensive intensity 4-3.

This second round match ups are more fun to watch than the previous round but it is more difficult to determine who will take the series cause most of the second round series match ups are evenly match.